Reconstruction

Reconstruction (1865–1877)

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the competing visions of Reconstruction, analyze the political and social achievements of the Reconstruction era, and evaluate why Reconstruction ultimately failed to secure lasting equality for Black Americans.

Three Competing Visions of Reconstruction

From the moment of Confederate surrender, politicians disagreed fundamentally about what Reconstruction should accomplish.

Lincoln's "10 Percent Plan" (December 1863):

• 10% of 1860 voters take loyalty oath → state readmitted
• Pardon for most Confederates (excluding high officials)
• States must accept emancipation
• Lenient; focused on rapid reunification

Radical Republican Vision (Wade-Davis Bill, 1864 — pocketed by Lincoln):

• 50% of voters must take loyalty oath
• Confederate leaders disenfranchised permanently
• Stronger requirements for Black civil rights
• Congress, not the president, should control Reconstruction

Presidential Reconstruction (Johnson, 1865–67):

• Andrew Johnson (a Tennessee Democrat put on the ticket to attract border state support) assumed the presidency after Lincoln's assassination (April 14, 1865)
• Restored Confederate states quickly with minimal requirements
• Allowed former Confederates to return to power; pardoned most rebels
• Opposed Black suffrage and civil rights

The Reconstruction Amendments

13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery throughout the United States.

14th Amendment (1868):

• Citizenship clause: all persons born in the U.S. are citizens (overturning Dred Scott)
• Equal protection clause: states cannot deny equal protection of the laws
• Due process clause: states cannot deprive persons of life, liberty, or property without due process
• Foundation of civil rights law from Reconstruction to the present

15th Amendment (1870):

• The right to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
• Did NOT grant universal suffrage — allowed literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses that would be used to disenfranchise Black voters

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction (1867–1877)

After Johnson vetoed civil rights legislation and Southern states enacted "Black Codes" (laws recreating conditions close to slavery), Congress took control.